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A very kind invite from the good folk who give up their time to help out at The Hub, and come Tuesday evening, I walked straight into the energy that is the Wivenhoe Youth Club at the Philip Road Centre.

This was something of an eye opener. My only experience so far at Philip Road has been to watch some rather arty films in the blacked out main hall, staged by Moving Image.

Tuesday evening instead saw the hushed tones of the movie buffs being replaced by what to be honest, can only be best described as a hell of a lot of fun.

I have very fond memories of my own time spent at a village youth club back in the rolling wolds of South Nottinghamshire. It was the social highlight of the week - a time to dress up, escape from homework and just generally hang out, bruv.

How brilliant then to see that the power of a village youth club is still functioning so successfully down at Phillip Road. Sure, times have changed. My day job requires me to be CRB checked, and despite having my camera with me, I was very weary of taking photos of some of our young folk. A bit of artistic creativity, and you get the idea in the images below.

But what of The Hub, Wivenhoe’s very own youth club? More importantly, why was I tagging along in what seemed like a hybrid of a game of football / table tennis / snooker, all being played out to the soundtrack of some modern music that made me feel like a High Court judge?

Well…

Wivenhoe’s Hub doesn’t run itself. It is an incredibly valuable asset within the town that is in urgent need of some adult support. The very kind Michael Padmore invited me, partly to help plug the cause, partly to, um, probably just feel very old.

Volunteers are needed in order for The Hub to keep on growing. Finding the young folk isn’t the problem; for more members to be able to attend, more adults are required to help join in with the fun.

This seems a very rewarding role. Support is given by the current volunteers. No specific training as such is needed. All that is required is for a basic CRB check to be carried out, and then being able to offer a coupe of hours a week.

Tuesday evening is for the Year 6 and Year 7 young folk. This in itself encourages great interaction. Broomgrove, Millfields and Colne Community School pupils, all mixing together, both uptown and downtown. Thursday evening is set-aside for Wivenhoe teenagers.

Through talking with some of the volunteers and the young folk, I found out how The Hub was an idea that developed out of the Wivenhoe Youth Council. This is an initiative supported by the big boys and girls at the Town Council, where real power and decisions relating to the youth in Wivenhoe is handed over.

Thirty-eight Hub members attended on Tuesday evening. Michael mentioned that a figure of fifty is not unknown. Volunteer levels need to be matching this rise if The Hub can continue to flourish down at Philip Road.

As I’m finding with much of Wivenhoe life, gossip seems to tick over the social circle. Michael was keen to point out that The Hub IS NOT closing; likewise the future of the Philip Road Centre seems secure for now.

This is a community space that can only continue to be justified if the community carry on using it. Providing a release once a week, for parents and kids alike, has to be a good thing.

Anyone wanting to make initial enquiries about what a volunteer role at The Hub is all about can contact Michael via email over here. Helping out young adults is incredibly rewarding.

Youth - wasted on the young. I never did find out what that music was…

Many thanks to Rosie, Hettie and Louis for kindly agreeing to the podcast catch up below.